Knitting machine and method of knitting



June 21, 1955 5 HAFNER 2,711,091

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF KNITTING Filed May 6 1950 INVENTOR:

' ERNEST E. HAFNER A T TOHNE Y5 nited States Patent KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF KNITTDIG Ernest E. Hafner, St. Albans, N. Y., assignor to Dubied Machinery Company, Long Island City, N. Y.

Application May 6, 1950, Serial No. 160,531

Claims priority, application Switzerland August 16, 1949 2 Claims. (CI. 66-63) My present invention relates to the automatic manufacture of hosiery having narrowing lait-patterns and is distinguished in that the staffs of juxtaposed stitches which still hang from the respective operating needles, are intercrossed by means of a purl-work frame. Such intercrossing is brought about by a relative movement of the needle beds and a movement of the respective operating needles from an initial position in one needle bed to an intermediate position in the other needle bed and, after a renewed relative movement of the needle beds, back into the said initial position, the inoperative needles being temporarily opposite to each other in the needle-bed guideways.

The special narrowing devices conventionally used'fcr said operative purpose, by means of which juxtaposed stitches are picked up and rehung on the needles after having been interchanged, thus are dispensed with. Special fiat machines having two conventional needle beds and an auxiliary needle bed, or purl knitting machines equipped with double-latch needles and with needles each having two hooks and one latch only, also are used fr producing the said patterns. costly and not reliable in operation and, further, restrict the range of possible patterns and output.

In contrast thereto, the method disclosed by my present invention allows the knitting of hosiery involving cable patterns, according to any method of knitting and in a 7 simple and reliable manner. All the needles can be used in operation, and at least one end of the ware can be ribbed.

The means for carrying out the said method are embodied in a purl frame which comprises needle beds which are longitudinally movable relatively to each other, and elements for selecting and moving the jacks which move the stitch-crossing needles from their starting position into the intermediate position and back again, in-

dependently of those jacks-which are not used for producing the cable-stitch patten.

The method as Well as the means for carrying out the same, are described with reference to the partly schematical drawing, in which- Fig. 1 shows a piece of hosiery having a cable-stitch pattern,

Fig. 2 shows the intercrossing of three juxtaposed stitches,

Fig. 3 shows a partial cross-section through the needle beds of a flat purl frame, and

Figs. 4-7 serve for explaining the mode of operation of the frame.

The piece of hosiery shown in Fig. 1 comprises a nor mal two-and-two rib bottom 1, an adjoining single body consisting of groups of plain stitch wales 2 and purl stitch wales 3, and a one-and-one rib top 5. Certain of the courses wales 3, by intercrossing as at 4- form a cablestitch pattern. The arrow A in Fig. 1 indicates the direction in which the hosiery piece is continuously and automatically produced and delivered from the machine.

The said hosiery piece is suitably produced by means of the purl frame described below.

Such known machines are 5 In Figs. 3-7, the numeral 6 designates the front needle bed (only partly shown), 7 the rear needle bed, and 8 a double latch needle which is automatically coupled to the jack sinker 9 or 10 of the needle bed 6 or 7 respectively, in accordance with the requirement of the work to be performed. A latch 17 is associated with each of the hooks of the needles 8. The sinkers 9 and 10 are each selected through an associated perforated Jacquard card 11. The cards 11 constitute an endless chain which is moved through a respective Jacquard roller 12 or 13 (Figs. 4-7). The said roller is rotatable and displaceable. To effect the racking movement a usual racking lever 14 is provided, being connected to the rear needle bed 7 and being fulcrumed on the machine frame at 15. In Fig. 3,

, the numeral 16 designates a stitch which is to be intercrossed and which is situated on a closed latch 17 of the double latch needle 8 which is situated in the intermediate position. The front needle bed 6 is secured through two screws 19 to the needle-bed frame 18. Two blocks 20 by means of a screw 21 each are secured to the frame 18 for guiding the movable rear needle bed 7.

In operation, the sinkers 9 and 10 are selected by means of the Jacquard cards 11 in accordance with the hosiery piece to be produced. It thus is possible to knit by means of all the needles any kind'of loops ac cording to pattern. Further, all the needles 8 may be selectively used for. forming cable-stitch patterns. Such patterning takes place automatically inpredeterrnined 'manner, in the sense of Fig. 2, by intercrossing the wales of juxtaposed switches, e. g. la-4 of a stitch course depending from the needles 8a8f.

For such purpose, the needles 8a-8f (Fig. 4) of the stitch-carrying needles, for example, are moved from the rear needle bed 7 to the front needle bed 6, whereupon the bed 7 is transposed by means of the lever 14 through three needle divisions from right to left to the position shown in Fig. 5, and the front and rear sinkers 9 and 10 which are opposite the needles 8a--8c are moved into the operating position by means of the Jacquard card 11. The three needles and sinkers 9 and 10 indicated by dash lines remain at rest, while the conventional carriage or cam box 22, respectively, is moved from left to right across the needle beds, the needles 8a8c through their associated sinkers 9 being moved from the front needle bed 6 to the rear needle bed 7 without forming stitches. The said three needles 8a8c thereby are moved into the intermediate position (of needle 8) shown in Fig. 3, in which the needle stitches hanging from the needles have not been knocked over yet. After completing the stroke of the carriage, the rear needle bed 7 is transposed by means of the lever 14 through six needle divisions from left to right into the position shown in Fig. 6, and the needles Sd-Sf which are opposite the front and rear sinkers 9 and 10, are moved into the operative position through the Jacquard card 11. During the subsequent stroke of the carriage from right to left, the said three needles 8d8f are moved through the associated sinkers 10 from the front needle bed 6 to the rear needle bed 7, also into the intermediate position in the sense of Fig. 3. The loops of the three needles 8a-8c thus have been automatically intercrossed with those of the three needles 8d8f in the sense of Fig. 2, for the purpose of forming a cable-stitch pattern. After, subsequently, the rear needle bed 7 has been transposed through three needle divisions from right to left back to the starting position (Fig. 7), knitting may be continued as desired.

While intercrossing the groups of stitches (for the purpose of forming the cable-stitch pattern), the needles not used for such purpose and not shown in Figs. 47, together with their associated sinkers, remain at rest. In such latter position, the said needles are opposite Patented June 21, 1955" eachother relative to the switch cams of the two needle beds 6 and 7. After having moved the rear needle bed 7 back to its starting position, one again may operate with all the needles for the purpose of knitting any ware with the desired kinds of stitches. The hosiery, as will be -readilyappreciated, may beforrned as elastic rib atoneend or at bothends;

In place of a Jacquard device for selecting the'sinkers, conventional long-heel and short-heel sinkersmay be provided.

What I claim as new is:

1. A purl stitch flat knitting-machine for providing knit goods having cable stitch patterns inconjunction with desired other knitting comprising a pair-oi needle beds'having' needle channelsbeing movablerelative-to eachother,- needles having hooks at opposite ends and closing latches for each hook lying in the channels, means for movingone of the needle beds laterally relative to the other in two'ditferent-directions and means for transferring some of the needles after each relative movement of the beds from one bed to the other to intermediate displaced positions of the needles relative to each other so that stitches on the transferred needles are moved from hooks at one end of each transferred needle ontoclosed latches of the hooks at the other end of each'transferred needle to effect intercrossing ofstitches of transferred needles, while needles not-transferred remain lying temporarily opposite each other in the needle bed channels.

2. A method of knitting on a purl stitch knitting-machine having two grooved needle bedsand usuallateh openers-and needles-with hooks and latches at each end and transposing means for one of the needle beds, which,

method cornprises crossing a group of stitches remaining on one group of needle hooks with a second group of 1 the second group of stitches temporarily onto the closed needle latches of the'hooks at the opposite ends of the needles of said second group by moving said latter needles into an intermediate position in the said other needle bed, whereby the second group of stitches is intercrossed with the first group of stitches, and returning the said needle beds to their original relative positions to permit A subsequent continuance of knitting.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 943,921 Dubied Dec. 21, 1909 1 2,110,915 Nogler Mar. 15, 1938 2,215,082 Mehnert Sept. 11, 1940 2,410,710 Brown Nov. 5, 1946 2,461,204 Fontaine Feb. 194a FOREIGN PATENTS I 1 508,774 Great Britain July 5, 1939 Germany Sept. 20, 1940 

